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Netflix touts Byron Baes as a show about "Australian influencers": So why do its stars have so few Instagram followers?

  • Only two of the shows stars have more than 10,000 Instagram followers, and those two are veterans of Love Island Australia and the Australian version of The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise. "Let’s just quickly run the numbers: at the time of the show’s premiere, reality television veterans Elias and Nathan had the largest Instagram followings at 117,000 and 31,000 followers respectively, followed by Hannah, Sarah, and Saskia (tied at 7,000), then by Jess (5,000) and Elle (3,000) — followings comparable to that of the average teenager," says Kim Hew-Low. "Consider, too, how the bona fide Byron influencer Ruby Tuesday Matthews (223,000 followers) turned down multiple requests to appear on the show. Lest this start sounding like some post-game sports analysis, the main takeaway should be this: we are far from the superbowl of influencing, if in the professional leagues at all. What we are watching when we watch Byron Baes is akin to some regional, mid-morning tournament: a spectacle of amateur collisions and fumbles, a relentless if fruitless, naked striving. That air of mediocrity permeates every aspect of the show."

    TOPICS: Byron Baes, Netflix, Instagram, Reality TV